Gaming console with transparent sprites

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a gaming console  40  having display means  41 , and game control means  100  arranged to control images displayed on the display means  41 . The game control means  100  are arranged to play a game wherein a plurality of symbols  43  are randomly selected and displayed on the display means  41  and, if a winning combination results, the console  40  pays a prize. The console  40  is characterised in that the displayed images include a first image component  31  which displays basic game features and a second image component  50  which displays image features which appear superimposed on the first image component  31 . The second image component  50  is transparent, whereby the first image component  31  is visible through the second image component  50  under the control of the control means  100.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to, and is a continuation of,co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 12/539,955, having a filing date ofAug. 12, 2009; which claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/542,296, having a filing date of Oct. 2, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No.7,628,694, issued on Dec. 8, 2009; which claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/369,804, having a filing date of Aug. 6, 1999,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,115,033, issued on Oct. 3, 2006; which claimspriority to Australian Patent Application No. PP5184, having a filingdate of Aug. 10, 1998, all of which are incorporated herein by referencein their entirety.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[Not Applicable]

MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE

[Not Applicable]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to gaming machines of the type generallyreferred to as slot machines, fruit machines or poker machines, and inparticular the invention provides an improvement to a game played onsuch a machine.

Players who regularly play gaming machines quickly tire of particulargames and therefore it is necessary for manufacturers of these machinesto come up with innovative game features that add interest to the gamesprovided on such machines in order to keep the players amused andtherefore willing to continue playing the game.

Gaming or poker machines have been well known for many years and havemore recently gained considerable popularity, with quite substantialamounts of money wagered on these machines. There is a growing tendencyfor Governments to legalise the use of gaming machines by licensingoperators, with resulting revenue gains through licence fees andtaxation of monies invested. The licensed operation of gaming machinesis the subject of legislation and regulation. This regulation almostalways dictates a minimum percentage payout for a gaming machine. Forexample, a minimum of 85% of monies invested must be returned aswinnings, and manufacturers of gaming machines therefore must designtheir machines around these regulatory controls.

With the growth that has occurred in the gaming machine market there isintense competition between manufacturers to supply the various existingand new venues. When selecting a supplier of gaming machines, theoperator of a venue will often pay close attention to the popularity ofvarious games with their patrons. Therefore, gaming machinemanufacturers are keen to devise games which are popular with players,as a mechanism for improving sales.

Many various strategies have been tried in the past to make games moreenticing to players, including the commonly known double-up feature,whereby, if a player wins a particular game, they can then risk thewinnings of that game in a double-or-nothing mode in which they gambleon a subsequent, and often different, game such as whether a red orblack card will be the next card drawn.

Other techniques adopted in the past have been to provide complexity inthe numbering and combinations of indicia which would result in a win,thereby hoping to convince the player that there is a greater chance ofwinning and to keep their interest in a particular game.

Many gaming control authorities do not permit images to be superimposedover a game image if they obliterate a part of the game image that wouldbe used to display the outcome of a game. In the past, game designerswere therefore forced to squeeze auxiliary images into small spaces onthe periphery of the screen or to make the game area of the screenproportionally smaller, however neither of these are desirable optionsas they reduce the attractiveness of the game for the player. On the onehand if feature indicators are small they might not be seen by theplayer and the player might not take advantage of a feature currently onoffer by the console. On the other hand if the main game image is toosmall it will not be attractive to players.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect, the present invention provides a gamingconsole having an electronic display means, and game control meansarranged to control images displayed on the electronic display means,the game control means being arranged to play a game wherein a pluralityof symbols are randomly selected and displayed on the electronic displaymeans and, if a winning combination results, the console pays a prize,the game being characterised in that the displayed images include afirst image component which displays basic game features and a secondimage component which displays non-basic image features which appearsuperimposed on the first image component and are additional to thebasic game features, the second image component being transparent,whereby the first image component is visible through the second imagecomponent under the control of the control means such that the secondimage component does not conceal the first image component, and whereinthe first image component and the second image component are displayedon the same electronic display.

In accordance with one or more of the above aspects of the invention,the second image component can take various forms such as an animated orfixed character, a window or a graphic and may be used to indicate afeature game or special prize, or a message to the player about anavailable option or feature, a condition or mode of the console, or aservice message broadcast by the establishment in which the console isinstalled. Examples of second image components include sprites whichappear during games and move about the screen to indicate special orbonus symbols, function indicators such as “reserved” indicators andmessage text or boxes containing message text broadcasting servicemessages such as operating hours, coming attractions (theatreperformances etc.) or bonus prize periods.

The second image may be variably transparent, and may be varied intransparency from “solid” where the underlying first image is totallyobliterated, to a faint ghost like image where the underlying image isclearly visible through the second image.

The second image may be static in the case of a “reserved” lock orservice message, or may move about the screen as in the case of a spriteindicating bonus symbols in a spinning reel game. The image may also beanimated such that the sprite may change shape or attitude, for examplewalk or run about the screen with moving arms pointing at featuresymbols. Other animated effects may be used, for example in a game witha vampire or ghoulish theme, the “reserved” sign may drip blood, with animage of a growing puddle of blood at the bottom of the screen.

In cases where the second image takes the form of an animated character,it may further be animated such that it “reacts” to certain conditions.For example, in a game with a ghoulish theme, the second image mayappear to be frightened when it is situated next to a certain gamesymbol, for example a ghoul. In other cases, when the second image isacting as a wild card symbol, it may appear to be happy and excited whenit causes winning combinations to occur.

The present invention is applicable to video gaming consoles of thetraditional poker machine style (also known as slot machines or fruitmachines) in which the display means comprises a video simulation of aset of rotatable reels, each carrying a plurality of symbols. Theinvention is equally applicable to video draw poker consoles in which apoker hand is displayed on a screen, the cards of the hand beingselected from a standard 52 or 53 card deck.

The occurrence of the second image may be triggered by the occurrence ofa special symbol or a predetermined combination of special symbolsdisplayed in a particular arrangement.

In cases where the second image takes the form of an animated characterand acts as a wild card symbol, the second image may be moved from onelocation to another via an animated walking motion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of examplewith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a gaming console with a video simulation of arotating reel display incorporating a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a gaming console control circuit;

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which thetransparent second image is displayed on the display means andsuperimposed on elements of the first image; and

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which the secondimage component functions as a message to the player.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description the methodology of the embodimentswill be described, and it is to be understood that it is within thecapabilities of the non-inventive worker in the art to introduce themethodology on any standard microprocessor-based gaming console by meansof appropriate programming.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the first embodiment of theinvention is illustrated in which a gaming console 40, of the typehaving a video display screen 41 which displays a plurality of rotatablereels 42 carrying symbols 43, is arranged to pay a prize on theoccurrence of a predetermined symbol or combination of symbols.

In the gaming console 40 illustrated in FIG. 1, the game is initiated bya push button 44, however, it will be recognised by persons skilled inthe art that this operating mechanism might be replaced by a pull handleor other type of actuator in other embodiments of the invention. The topbox 45 on top of the gaming console 40 carries the artwork panel 35which displays the various winning combinations for which a prize ispaid on this console.

The program which implements the game and game feature is run on astandard gaming console control processor 100 as illustratedschematically in FIG. 2. This processor forms part of a controller 110which drives the video display screen 141 and receives input signalsfrom sensors 144. The sensors 144 may be touch sensors, a pull handle oranother type of actuator in other embodiments of the invention. Thecontroller 110 also receives input signals from a mechanism 120indicating the user has provided sufficient credit to begin playing. Themechanism 120 may be a coin input chute, a credit card reader, or othertype of validation device. The controller 120 further drives a payoutmechanism 130 which for example may be a coin output.

The game played on the console shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a relativelystandard game which includes a 3 by 5 symbol display and allows multiplepay lines. The game also includes a special feature embodying theinvention, the special feature being that the displayed images include afirst image component which displays basic game features and a secondimage component which displays image features which appear superimposedon the first image component, the second image component beingtransparent, whereby the first image component is visible through thesecond image component under the control of the control means.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the transparentsecond image component 50 appears superimposed over elements 31 of thefirst image. The second image component 50 does not prevent the userfrom determining the type of the symbol(s) “underneath” it. In this casethe second image component 50 appears as an animated ghostlikecharacter, and may be animated by its arms waving to the user orpointing at particular features on the screen, or it may be animated asit moves about the screen. Furthermore, the transparency of theghostlike character 50 may vary. For example, if the character 50 movesabout the screen to a position where it is located close to a certainimage, for example a ghoul, the character 50 may be animated to appearshocked or scared, and to further become pale and highly transparent inresponse, possibly to the point of only just being visible to the useras a faint ghostly image. On the other hand, if for example the secondimage 50 moves to a position where it creates a winning combination, itmay be animated to appear to be happy that the user has won, and it maybecome less transparent, and more solid and visible to the user. Thetransparency of the second image 50 may also be continuously varying,such that the image 50 will appear to flash or pulse, which will attractthe user's eye to the current feature of interest.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the second image component 50 hasbeen displayed in response to a mode of the console, in this case theconsole has been reserved. As the second image component 50 istransparent it serves both the function of informing potential usersthat the console is unavailable to them, while still allowing potentialusers to see the features and symbols 31 of the game “through” thereserved sign, thereby attracting potential users for the future.Although the second image component is static in FIG. 4, it mayalternatively be animated in various ways. For example, in a game with avampire theme, the “reserved” sign may be animated in such a way that itappears to slowly drip blood, and an image of a pool of blood maygradually grow or collect at the bottom of the screen.

Although the invention has been described with reference to particularexamples of the invention, it should be appreciated that it may beexemplified in other forms. For instance, the second image component cantake various forms such as a fixed character, a window or a graphic andmay be used to indicate a feature game or special prize, or a message tothe player about an available option or feature, a condition or mode ofthe console, or a service message broadcast by the establishment inwhich the console is installed.

The present invention is applicable to video gaming consoles of thetraditional poker machine style (also known as slot machines or fruitmachines) in which the display means comprises a video simulation of aset of rotatable reels, each carrying a plurality of symbols. Theinvention is equally applicable to video draw poker consoles in which apoker hand is displayed on a screen, the cards of the hand beingselected from a standard 52 or 53 card deck.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerousvariations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown inthe specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are,therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive.

1. A gaming machine comprising: an electronic display; and a gamecontroller that is arranged to: facilitate a play of a game in which aplurality of symbols are displayed in an arrangement on the electronicdisplay; cause a display of a secondary image on the electronic displaysuch that the secondary image is superimposed on at least one of thesymbols, wherein the secondary image is transparent such that the atleast one of the symbols is visible through the secondary image; andcause the display of the secondary image in response to the arrangementcorresponding to a winning arrangement of symbols.
 2. The gaming machineas claimed in claim 1, wherein the secondary image comprises an animatedcharacter that moves about the electronic display.
 3. The gaming machineas claimed in claim 2, wherein the animated character points to afeature displayed on the electronic display.
 4. The gaming machine asclaimed in claim 1, wherein a transparency of the secondary imagevaries.
 5. A method for use by a gaming machine that comprises anelectronic display and a game controller, the method comprising the gamecontroller: facilitating a play of a game in which a plurality ofsymbols are displayed in an arrangement on the electronic display;causing a display of a secondary image on the electronic display suchthat the secondary image is superimposed on at least one of the symbols,wherein the secondary image is transparent such that the at least one ofthe symbols is visible through the secondary image; and causing thedisplay of the secondary image in response to the arrangementcorresponding to a winning arrangement of symbols.
 6. The method asclaimed in claim 5, wherein the secondary image comprises an animatedcharacter that moves about the electronic display.
 7. The method asclaimed in claim 6, wherein the animated character points to a featuredisplayed on the electronic display.
 8. The method as claimed in claim5, wherein a transparency of the secondary image varies.